We are going to perform a vascular ultrasound exam that is a medical diagnostic procedure that uses ultrasound. Vascular ultrasound is similar to the ultrasound that a pregnant woman gets to look at the fetus in her abdomen. Our exam uses sound waves to look at the flow of blood in your blood vessels. We are usually looking for blockages in your blood vessels.

The exams that we perform in our vascular lab are mostly painless and non-invasive (we do not use needles, except during PFO diagnostic testing). Our technologist will use a hand-held probe and gently place it directly on your skin. A water-based gel is used to help us look at the structures inside your body. We might have to apply some pressure with the probe to the area that we need to study. This might cause some pain and discomfort if you already have pain in that area, but we will do everything we can to minimize your discomfort.

Exams vary in length depending on which one is being done. Most of our exams take about an hour to do. Some of our exams that look at the blood flow in your abdomen might take an hour and a half to two hours.

Since this exam uses no X-rays or radiation, your guests are allowed to come and observe your exam in the examination room if you don’t mind.

The preliminary test results will be phoned/faxed to your doctor by the technologist, immediately after your exam. The final report will be sent to your doctor, within a day or two, after our interpreting physician has reviewed your exam. Your doctor will be contacting you to discuss the exam and answer any questions you might have about the results.